#tesn

[grafffreaks]

TESN ONELOVE

14.12.2015

[grafffreaks]

TESN SRF SKE ECHOGK

24.10.2015

[nohocurling]

#FANDango in Fargo: In Full Effect

#FANDango series goes on all week. Check out part 1. Thursday. Our first full day in Fargo and we started it out right, with some honest to God crispy bacon! None of this streaky rasher b.s. from the UK. We had the option of touring the Fargodome in the morning but that's when our pals John Shuster and Tyler George were playing each other, and dag nabbit, I was there to watch us some curling! Which we did. In the Conventions and Visitors Bureau suite. While getting interviewed by Prairie Public Radio. With a fridge full of beer.

Hanging on @NoHoCurling fanciness. Our sweet suite view. #Fargo #OlympicTrials pic.twitter.com/JWCgYOJDFf — chris olander (@colanderland) November 14, 2013

Look at @NoHoCurling getting interviewed for the radio.  This guy is fancy!  #OlympicTrials #FANDango pic.twitter.com/VffXNwOrom — Marissa Messier (@dydirect) November 14, 2013

The problem with watching a game where you wish both teams could win, is that one team is going to lose. Unfortunately that was Tyler this time in a close game. But we'd be back in the afternoon as he attempted to make it to tie breakers. The women's side was a close affair as well, where Team Brown wrapped up the round robin in a tight match against Pottinger to finish tied for first and set themselves up for a best of three in the finals on Friday. But now it was time for beer. Team #FANDango headed off to the Fargo Brewing Company to get a personal tour. It is an unassuming building, but inside is everything you need to make great beer, specifically, four dudes who love the craft and love their city.

Their signature beer is their Scottish Ale, aptly named Stone's Throw, complete with an image of a curling stone on it. Something tells me this is going to be a hot seller at the new Fargo-Moorhead Curling Club. And by something I mean someone told me that, they're going to have it on tap once their license kicks in. They also have their flagship Wood Chipper ale, because, you know, Fargo.

After the tour we had a tasting of all they had to offer. Everything was great. The Stone's Throw was solid, the Snozbeer tasted like Snozbeer, and the Sodbuster porter could be my favorite porter.

The vision these guys have for this place is great. It's a perfect example homegrown business and adaptive re-use. There's a derelict laundry mat across the street that someone needs to snap up and turn into restaurant to complement the brewery. We headed out with an armful of swag and a case of Stone's Throw, ready for lunch at JL Beers. This place is a cool little burger place with a ton of beer on tap, including my incumbent favorite porter, Deschutes Black Butte! I got to directly compare these two beers and I don't know if I could pick a favorite now. I'd probably have an easier time picking a favorite kid. Aside from having the best burger I've eaten in two months, I got to talk more with Steve Saxlund, 3-time NCAA wrestling champion, who works for the Fargo Conventions and Visitors Bureau. He was one of our hosts and will put me through the ringer a couple days later. I used this opportunity to pitch my new Fargo slogan.

We're gonna make it a thing. Look for it at the Merch Table soon.

He asked how they compared and I told him not to ask so many questions. Anyway, it was time to get back to the rink for the next draw where Jen and I were schedule to be on 12th End Sports as the fifth end break interview and hop in the booth to call an end with the infamous Tuckinator. If you missed it, it went something like this.

Look at these goobers! #OlympicTrials #RoadToSochi pic.twitter.com/1sJnHGLUhG — Ryan Berdan (@ryanberdan) November 14, 2013

Good work @NoHoCurling & @cupcakecurler - survived the Tuckinator! pic.twitter.com/pRh5Y1dcTt — Marissa Messier (@dydirect) November 14, 2013

My stint in the booth was pretty unremarkable, and Jen was silent save for her "Go Team Bond Girls!" shout out at the end. If I get another chance, I'll do my best Greg Stink impression. In this draw, Shuster played Fenson in a game of mostly take-outs. The loser of which would play a tie breaker against George if he had won. George played McCormick and lost, setting up the Shuster/Fenson 3 game finals, while McCormick and George retired to the Holiday Inn bar. 

Before we could join them, we still had some #FANdango action coming. First, I met Mark de Celle, author of How Fargo of You. We had a nice conversation on the effects of globalization on Fargo, the changing nature of social interactions among its citizens, and the way technology has allowed us to be anywhere we want (Fargo for him, Scotland for me).

Mark, Dave Peck, Jen, and myself.

We probably could have chatted for some time, but we had a schedule to keep and it was off to the brand new Fargo-Moorhead Curling Club. Marissa had arranged a game with some locals when their opponents had to forfeit the first night of league. The club had only been open for a week at that point, and it marked the second club I was able to break in after it just opened (Evergreen being the other).

Example of an in ice ad at the FM Curling Club.

The ice was great, the curlers even better! It had that new club smell and everything. Looking forward to making it out for a bonspiel one day. Even better, like Voltron, Team #FANDango was completed as Liza showed up with Flat Stonely. The fun could officially begin.

But damn, was I tired. Glad we only played six ends. Steve gave us some night life tips, but basically said the Holiday Inn is where it's at. He was not kidding. Live music, gambling, cheap drinks. It was a mix of locals and folks staying in the hotel. In this case curlers blowing off steam and football parents in town for the tournament. Then there were two guys doing a synchronized Footloose dance. And there may have been some twerking.

On that note, it was time to crash. Another two full days of Fargo madness to follow.

[nohocurling]

Arena Nationals Preview

After coming from Northern Wisconsin, stopping for lunch with Rick and Terry at the USCA HQ, picking up the wife in Chicago and driving into Ft. Wayne, we're about ready to kick-off the USCA Arena Curling Nationals!

If you're reading this before 7:30 am PDT, you still have a chance catch some of the action on the 12th End Sports Network. (Stream starts at 5:30 am PDT) If you missed the stream, then you missed the debut of our sweet new Foxglide jerseys. Or, maybe you're reading this early and this will be the debut. Either way, take a look.

Foxglide is the outfitter that crated the uniforms worn by the Scottish national teams at this years World Championships. Bond Girls skip Marissa won a contest for a shoe bag earlier this year, and that opened up a line of communication with Alan. She had some Bond Girls jerseys done, and being a uniform nerd, I wanted in on the action. Ours were easy, just model them after the Zissou shirts from the movie, with our little flairs (numbers, California flag) added in. Match the NOB from our jackets and boom, new kits.

Pretty pleased with how these turned out. Since sublimation is a big part of what they do, this would be the perfect opportunity to create Los Angeles Kings "Burger King" curling jerseys for an alternate look. The possibilities are really endless. But about the actual competition. Our first game is against the team from Palmetto, featuring USCA director Beau Welling. The whole field is dotted with guys like this, curlers with interesting curling resumes. I started Googling the skips and started with Guy Scholz. Named sounded familiar, then I glanced over at the book I was reading and found it was written by Guy! Garnet Eckstrand from the 'Zoo curled in Alberta with Kevin Martin, Nick Myers from Dallas was at Nationals last year, and there are a number of other players who have been displaced from curling hotbeds to the dregs of arena curling. That's what makes this thing so much fun. There are tons of teams from clubs we've never played against, Oklahoma, Lansing, Ft. Wayne, Long Island and the list goes on. Do we want to win this? Hell yeah, but being part of this cool event will be a great experience in itself. If we do manage to do well, then it will be a nice accomplishment. We just have to win the first game. If we do, we move to afternoon draws. If we lose, we're up again at 8:30 on Friday in another play-in game on the B-side. Stay tuned for action shots of the new shirts and for further updates from the Arena Nats. Of course, you can follow us all on the Twitter. TeamZissouCurl RyanBerdan NoHoCurling CAStateCurler And if they decide to tweet, skip Paul_Mendoza_ and my wife, CupCakeCurler.

Gone Curlin'

[adambonham]

Finally Getting Things Done

Being a father has been quite an experience and it gets better with everyday that passes. The moments that Jacobi is not in sight, I instantly miss him. Having him around has pushed me into doing more with myself, such as actually learning what I do a little more and has even pushed me to strive to better myself at it. When I say "it" I mean graphic design, which has even in turn made me look into video and audio authoring and editing. It is becoming a passion of mine that not only makes me happy to know that I am doing something I can teach him when he begins using computers, but all of my children (when I have more.)

Not only have I gotten around to finally bettering my graphics, I have even pushed myself to formally post on here more and re-read things I posted to learn how I format my own words and better that! It's nice to get things done, to write and to get out everything that is pent up inside. I thank my son, Jacobi and fiance, Darlyn for helping me with this altogether! If it weren't for them, I am not sure where I would be at this point in life, but I know they are my inspiration. With that said, I have been going through and editing some guides that I wrote to kind of clean them up. Of course if you know me, they are body modification guides, and "how to"'s about keeping your piercings and mods clean, healthy and happy. I will post some links to them as well as the groups that I admin in in case there are any modded followers.

The first guide is a weather guide, pretty simple and about what materials to wear and not to wear. [link]

Another more recent guide is the Taping Guide, taping with ptfe or bondage tape. It's pretty simple as well, but does go into some detail on how to. [link]

To visit the groups go here: The Ear Stretching Network and The Body Mod Network.

I hope you all enjoy, and find some of the information useful! If you would like more, just inbox me!